Local officials exchange ideas about confronting wellness crisis in Tennessee

West Tennessee Healthcare CEO Dr. James Ross, Dr. Lisa Piercey and State Representative Ed Jackson listen to an answer to a question during the Healthier Tennessee discussion at The Jackson Chamber on Tuesday.(Photo: BRANDON SHIELDS/The Jackson Sun)Buy Photo

Tennessee isn’t a very healthy state; in fact, it’s one of the most unhealthy states in the country, according to research data from The Sycamore Institute.

That was the main point brought up for discussion earlier this week when Rick Johnson, the CEO of the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness, and Laura Berlind, the executive director of The Sycamore Institute in Nashville, met at The Jackson Chamber with elected officials and health care professionals from Jackson and rural West Tennessee.

Chamber President Kyle Spurgeon said these facts have an effect on the business community of a town, county and region as well.

“When businesses are looking to relocate their facilities, one of the factors they look at is health care of the area,” Spurgeon said. “What kind of health care facilities are there? What access do people have to a healthy lifestyle?

“These are questions that a lot of people don’t realize are important in the process of recruiting businesses to an area.”

Berlind discussed stats that affect the state’s overall health score compared to the rest of the country. The essential points of the stats she reported based on the data collected by The Sycamore Institute were Tennessee is a little higher than the national average in most negative health categories such as infant mortality rate and numbers of various health problems reported among the population and lower than average in positive health categories such as healthcare providers per capita.

“And those numbers have an effect on our state budget,” Johnson said. “Health care is responsible for about a third of the state’s annual budget.

“We spend more as a state on health care at $5.3 billion a year than we do on public education from Kindergarten through high school at $4.8 billion a year.”

In most categories, Tennessee typically ranks between 43 and 47 in most categories out of 50 states, and Johnson said the state is doing better than it was five years ago when Gov. Bill Haslam began the Foundation for Health and Wellness to bring about greater awareness of a healthier lifestyle. But there’s still a lot of work to do.

Johnson said the emphasis is trying to concentrate more resources on preventative care before treatment is needed, and one of the questions he asked of the local representatives was how to be more efficient in getting the word out.

West Tennessee Healthcare CEO James Ross said he had similar concerns after efforts to create more awareness for healthier lifestyles, citing an instance when the hospital system set up a workshop in a specific place and tried multiple methods to inform people about the workshop and its importance. He said 17 people showed up.

“We got the message out there because we bought advertising in the local media, and even scheduled times to hand out fliers at busy places in town, but stressing the importance of this conversation is what needs to happen,” Ross said.

Johnson and Berlind have been involved in similar conversations across the state as they’re trying to find the best methods to make a difference as the state government prepares to transition to a new administration next year.

“I like the progress we’re making, but there’s still so much more that needs to happen to make our entire state a healthier place that will benefit all facets of society,” Johnson said.

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.